Egypt's Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hani Sweilam met with Sanctus Nyirajera, the Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock of the Republic of Burundi, to discuss bilateral relations and cooperation in the water sector. This came during Sweilam's visit to Burundi during a tour of Nile Basin countries that included South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Burundi so far. Sweilam expressed his appreciation for meeting his Burundian counterpart, stressing the specificity of the strategic relations between Egypt and Burundi at all levels. He noted Egypt's support for the reform and development policies pursued by the Burundian government, which aim to increase economic development rates and improve the standard of living of the Burundian citizen. The minister affirmed Egypt's keenness to continue supporting the Burundian agricultural production sector, as well as supporting and modernizing the irrigation sector and optimizing the use of water resources in Burundi so that agriculture becomes the locomotive of development in it. Sweilam also expressed Egypt's appreciation for Burundi's position in support of the Egyptian position on water issues, stressing Egypt's keenness to strengthen the bonds of cooperation between the Nile basin countries by creating common interests and achieving mutual benefit for all parties. During the visit, Sweilam also reviewed the components of the memorandum of cooperation signed between the two countries in March 2021 in the field of integrated water resources management, which includes the preparation of three technical studies for the construction of rainwater harvesting dams and the establishment and maintenance of a network of rainwater drain within cities and villages. The Egyptian Minister indicated that Egypt had put forward an international initiative to adapt to climate changes in the water sector during COP27 in cooperation with many international partners. This international initiative is the starting point for taking action and implementing projects in the water sector to adapt to climate change, with a special focus on the African continent. He expressed his hope for the participation of the republic of Burundi in this important initiative, which aims mainly to support local communities in coping and adapting to climate change.
